Atlanta BCLP Partner Tiffany McKenzie spoke on Frazer Rice’s Wealth Actually podcast regarding special planning considerations for your health care directive and power of attorney during the COVID-19 pandemic. The full podcast can be found here.

London Senior Associate Ruben Sinha recently met with Hubbis via video link to provide his insight into what the BCLP Family Asset Protection Team offers, and why asset protection is becoming increasingly important to international families when substantial wealth is at stake. “My perspective is that while in Asia there has been some progress in the sphere of estate and succession planning, there has not been sufficient emphasis or focus on asset protection,” he explained in the July 9 interview. He highlighted that for the international super rich “the potential risks and financial impact that family litigation and divorce can have on a family’s wealth can be disastrous’’ and should not be overlooked. The full article can be read here.

The 7520 rate for August 2020 dropped to 0.4%.

The August 2020 Applicable Federal Interest Rates can be found here.

Chambers & Partners has recognized Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner in the 2020 edition of Chambers High Net Worth Guide. The publication named 10 Private Client and Family Asset Protection lawyers across the globe as leading lawyers in their field.

 The Chambers High Net Worth Guide ranks the top lawyers and law firms for international private wealth. The guide also recommends leading accountancy firms, private banks, wealth managers, trust companies and other professional advisers to HNW and UHNW clients around the world.

FIRM RANKINGS:

Georgia

Private Wealth Law – Band 2

London (Firms)

Private Wealth Law – Band 3

Missouri

Private Wealth Law – Band 1

Russia

Private Wealth Law – Band 3

RANKED LAWYERS:

Family/Matrimonial: High Net Worth

UK

Elizabeth Hicks – Band 1

Private Wealth Law

GEORGIA

Kimberly Civins – Band 2

Tiffany McKenzie – Up and Coming

LONDON (FIRMS)

Damian Bloom – Band 3

Reshmi

In the UK, same-sex couples have been able to enter into civil partnerships since 2005 and marry since 2014. However, the legal meaning of terms such as child, mother and father have not necessarily adapted to encompass LGBTQ* families. In the first of two blogs, Associate Jessie Rose examines the potential impact of outdated legal terminology on LGBTQ* families. The full blog post can be found here.

Treasury issued Notice 2020-51 today on CARES Act § 2203, the 2020 Waiver of Required Minimum Distributions (“RMDs”) that contained important (and in part some surprising) guidance.  Here are some of these important points.

• All distributions in 2020 from a Plan or IRA that were 2020 RMDs can be rolled over or put back into the Plan or IRA so long as that is completed by August 31, 2020.
• The ability to put the funds back into an IRA includes the ability of a beneficiary of an inherited IRA to return to the inherited IRA the funds distributed to the beneficiary as a 2020 RMD.
• A distribution in 2020 that is part of a series of substantially equal periodic payments may also be rolled over, although the plan participant can’t cease those payments in 2020 without penalty.
• The one rollover per 12 month limitation does not apply to 2020
  

The 7520 rate for July 2020 remained at 0.6%.

The July 2020 Applicable Federal Interest Rates can be found here.

Congratulations to Head of Family Asset Protection in London Elizabeth Hicks, who has been recognized as a ‘Top Recommended Family Lawyer’ by Spear’s Magazine, a considerable achievement given she launched the London team only eighteen months ago. Every year, the Spears Family Law Index recognizes a small number of family lawyers recommended by their peers for their work. Read more about Elizabeth here.

The 7520 rate for June 2020 decreased to 0.6%.

The June 2020 Applicable Federal Interest Rates can be found here.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many states have temporarily authorized remote witnessing and notarization of estate planning documents. These laws present a unique set of litigation risks, which can be mitigated with careful planning.

BCLP Partner, Doug Stanley, and Associates, Andrew Bleyer and Sasha Riedisser, will be discussing this topic on a Federal Bar Association webinar on Friday, May 15 at 2 p.m. CST. You can register for the webinar here.